Indelible
by Super Sheba
Summary: He was an idiot, but he left an indelible mark upon her life that changed her forever. [IchixRuki]


_Indelible_

She wondered when she had actually begun to see him in a different light. She told herself constantly that it was the moment she left him for the Soul Society, but when she was honest with herself, she knew it had been the moment he'd jumped out to save the spirit of the little boy. He had risked his own life for that of a complete stranger, despite all of his talk. She had taunted him about it in attempts to convince him to be a shinigami, and the words he had uttered in response had shocked her.

"Tell me, were you really thinking about your duty when you rushed to help me? Of course not! That's the last thing on your mind when you save someone!

He had been so compassionate, and for a moment, his bull-headed mannerisms had disappeared. She had never before seen a human so interested in the fate of another. The first time she had seen him in battle, his family's lives had been at stake, and so she had brushed off the fact that he had saved her too, believing deep down that he only had done so in hopes of rescuing his own kin.

But she had been wrong. After a time, she had realized that perhaps he had actually intended to help her from the very moment she had fallen into the murderous grasp of the hollow.

And at that time, she too had been a complete stranger, and a rather rude and prideful one at that.

But without a second thought he had saved her. Time and time again, he had come to her rescue just as she had been on death's doorstep. And now, as she sat staring out the small window of the Tower of Penance, she told herself that above all, she wanted him to stay within the safety of Karakura Town, but when she had first heard the mention of a group of Ryokas, one of whom being a stubborn red-head who refused to give up even when facing death, her lips had curved slightly into a soft smile.

A moment later, however, she had begun to curse very colorfully at the young man for his idiocy. Her brother, Byakuya, would have wrung her neck had he heard her using such an unlady-like vocabulary. ("Since when have you been a freakin' lady?" she could hear Ichigo's voice snidely saying within her thoughts), but she did not care what her brother would think, because that fool deserved every single word she swore. He was an idiot, coming to save her.

She was a woman of her word, and she would never forgive him for following her.

Just when she had finally found a sort of peace and had come to accept her upcoming death as her destiny, he had thrown her into chaos by arriving in Seireitei, Inoue, Chad, and Ishida in tow.

"Ichigo," Rukia whispered, a tear trickling down her cheek. "You idiot."

His cocky grin flashed across her mind's eye, and she punched the wall in anger. She wanted so badly to feel resentment towards him for his having followed her to Soul Society. She wanted to hate him for his disregard for her feelings, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not.

She only felt resentment towards herself for getting him involved in such a difficult and dangerous lifestyle.

Because deep down, she knew that she could not live without him. Deep down, she knew that she did not _want_ to live without _him._

She knew that he had left an indelible mark upon her life. She could work forever to forget the beauty of his occasional true grin. She could go her entire life trying to push his stubborn demeanor from her memory. She could try with all her might to erase his characteristic scowl from her thoughts.

It was not possible.

"Dammit, Ichigo, if you get yourself killed," Rukia stated, angry with herself more so than she actually was with him. "I'll kill you!"

She punched he wall and blood began to trickle down her knuckles from the harsh impact.

"Why did you have to come here, Ichigo?" Rukia cried furiously. "I told you not to come after me! Why couldn't you get it through your thick head? It's my burden to bear!"

And as she put her head in her hands, trembling, she knew the answer to her own question. It was just as he had told her the first time he had saved her.

"I'll do everything within my power," he had said. "I'd never leave you to die."

Her small frame shook as she wept silently, icy tears streaming down her pale, gaunt cheeks.


End file.
